Every night, when my mother-in-law, Pam, talked to my wife, she’d end her call by saying, “Love to Mikey!” Then, my wife would hold out the phone and I’d say, “Love to Pam-ela!” I don’t remember how I got started saying that to her, but she liked it, and so did I.

This photograph of Pam reminds me of everything amazing about her. She smiled–a true and amazing smile–in even the most difficult times. She played and lived and loved and laughed. And she left an incredible trail of happy bubbles.

Doing those things takes more than most of us can manage in the best of times, but Pam dug deep and gave from her heart, even during the most trying circumstances. In this photograph, Pam had been surviving for months on total perenteral nutrition, usually just called TPN, which is a liquid diet pumped into your bloodstream. She didn’t complain about the foods that she couldn’t eat. She lived and she played and she made everyone feel so much better from being around her.

Thanks for all of the smiles, Pam-ela. Although I miss you, you’re always with me. And anytime that life brings me a challenge, you remind me of what really matters … and I try to just smile and make bubbles.

–MY MONDAY MESSAGE–

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
~Gabriel García Márquez